From This Place Book Inspiring Women Artists of the Yarra Valley, Australia.

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To all my family, friends and followers. I wish you all a very “Happy & Joyful Christmas”

May the the “New Year” ahead bring you happiness, kindness, peace and good health with plenty of creativity. To those struggling, may your healing journey be short and you find your inner harmony, peace & renewed physical health swiftly. Jenny Davis 2018.

Recently, I’ve been unable to focus fully on my work. I feel I may have too many things going on in my life and need to simplify. I’ve also been procrastinating too long, putting off a few decisions, I need to make, regarding my arts practice. I know, I just have to get on with it, if I only knew what “IT” was ? Also, its been hard lately having to divide my time, between creating and dealing with with other life circumstances that have been cropping up. I know as an artist, my main focus is to create, or nothing will get done, but more important, my inner- self will suffer.

In the meantime, my daughter and her partner (xox) , gifted me a trip to London to visit them. After not seeing her for a few years, it was so nice to catch up and do stuff together again. We managed to fit in some very interesting exhibitions. The Anni Albers (1899-1994) textile exhibition at Tate Modern, was excellent. She was student of the Bauhaus art school and like other women at that time , was discouraged from becoming a painter. Instead, she enrolled in the weaving shop and made textiles her means of expression. Albers rose to become an influential figure, exploring the technical limits of hand-weaving to pioneer innovative uses of woven fabric as art, architecture and design.

It took a bit of getting around the V&A building, as its built around a very large inner courtyard. The signage wasn’t brilliant and quite confusing. I only saw a small portion of the collections and if I get another chance Id like explore it some more.

A “Kunstkammer” of cabinets full of weird and wonderful curiosities. Extraordinary dioramas displayed in a dark underground cellar, reached only by going down a very steep, spiral stair case.

I also managed to do a brief bit of mudlarking on the Thames. I found a handful of bits & pieces. A handmade nail used to secure sails to the masts of sailing ships and a few shards of pottery and I think part of a Tudor terracotta tile.

I’m home in Australia now and slowly getting back into studio mode. Having spent time with my family and inspired by new adventurers, I’m feeling more nurtured to just get on with “IT” and not think too much.

I’m not sure how I feel about showing artworks with mock -up backgrounds. So, recently I purchased a few mock – ups, and have been playing around with them. I’d like to display my artworks a little bit differently, being, there are, so many other artists online. I’m just wondering, if putting artworks with interesting backgrounds, makes any difference, for viewers, collectors etc. and, in getting it found in the search engines easier. I think they look cleaner, but at the same time, I don’t want to categorize my artwork as being, just “interior design” pieces. I’d love to hear what others think…

If you feel inclined, your welcome to add a comment at the bottom of this post.

Do you like to see artworks viewed in a room, or framed ? or do you prefer see artworks on their own, with no backgrounds?

New paintings available in my gallery. “Rustmatter” series. I want to capture the “beauty & hope” in decline, before its gone and continues my investigation into the disintegration and decay of the environment, of life and the human psyche.

Experiments with layers of rust, paint, iron shavings and salt. Finally, surfaces emerged, worn , weathered and sometimes ancient. I then sealed the paintings to keep stable and lock in the layers.

Each painting is a visual and textural descent into the abandoned, the derelict, the vacant and the forgotten. Curator & Arts Writer,Dr. Ewen Jarvis.

A beautiful way to send a personal message to your friends and family or, frame for a unique art display in your home or workplace.

About Wallmatter series.”A visual and textural descent into the abandoned, the derelict, the vacant and the, forgotten surface.”Through her utilisation of forlorn industrial structures, stained and crumbling walls, acts of graffiti, redundant signage, and portals giving access to meandering subterranean systems,of timeworn surfaces. Jenny Davis evokes a unique vision at once spare and lavish, material and ghostly. It is a vision that elevates the significance of random marks, stress fractures and other imperfections, while enfolding the viewer in an atmosphere of chromatically gentle and strangely opulent decay.”

To purchase please go to my Gallery page and scroll down to “Small Art Prints”.

I grew up in a “make do and mend” family, where nothing much was thrown away and would be mended or, re-purposed into something else, therefore, many of my textile pieces are hand- made, created from antique & vintage sourced materials and may include, discarded, abandoned, found objects. I have been working with textiles all my life. My mother was a dressmaker and as a child, I would collect the fabric scraps and make wall hangings and soft sculpture.

For further details about my textile pieces, please go to my gallery page and click under “Textile Art”

“TurkRedghost” series

Sometimes the antique textiles I work with, seem to yell at me, but mostly, they lay silent, as I make my own marks alongside, others gone before. Ragged bits, old and new stitching, tracing marks left behind on old textiles are a reminder, of a time when women, had many obligations and few choices. I feel comfortable, as I stitch, tear, dye and reinforce the fragmented pieces. Somehow, I hope, in a small way, by reclaiming and reworking the textiles, I can give a voice to those women.

Here at Outlook8studio – Jenny Davis we believe its important to let you know that your data is safe with us following changes to recent EU data protection laws (GDPR)We’re writing to let you know that we’re updating our privacy policy in preparation for the EU’s General Data Protection Regulations (“GDPR”) which went into effect on May 25th, 2018. While the GDPR is a European law, we are taking this opportunity to clarify and apply our privacy policy to everyone, no matter where you’re located. Here’s a quick summary of our changes.

We are being more specific on how we use the information we collect and how we keep the data

We’re being more specific about your data preferences and your data rights

These changes will not affect the way you use Outlook8studio-Jenny Davis

You do not need to take any action

To comply with the new law, we have updated our privacy policy: To read our new Privacy Policy, go to our Privacy Policies page and scroll down.

Thank you for being a part of our community and if you have any questions about your data , please feel free to get in touch.

After exhibition blues has hit! I’m all painted out at the moment, but still enjoying some textile pieces Ive been playing around with for a while now. Looks like some old photos and found objects will make their way into the project too. Please see “Spaces Below” exhibition details in the sidebar on the right.

Ragged bits , old and new stitching, tracing the marks left behind on, 120 yr old textiles.

Memories and ghosts from the 1800s, remind me, as I work, of a time when women had many obligations and few choices.

A time when, women were completely controlled by their fathers, brothers and male relatives and their sole purpose in life was to find a husband, reproduce and then spend the rest of their lives serving him.

If you were to break free, you would be crucified, ridiculed and seen as “not normal, insane, bullied and tossed aside.

The textiles from the 120 year old quilt toppers I work with, sometimes, seem to yell at me, but mostly, they lay silent, as I make my own marks alongside others gone before.

I feel comfortable, as I stitch, tear, dye and reinforce the fragmented pieces.

Somehow, I hope, in a small way, by reclaiming and reworking the textiles, I can give a voice to those women.

Just like in my own life, when I was powerless, art gave me a voice to express myself, where once I had none.